"Candy Cigarettes" lyrics

At nine years old
You crossed the ocean
Far from home
Your family opened
The Five and Ten
I'd ride past every day

Just a little ship
With my baseball cards
Candy cigarettes
In my coat pocket
In those days we were
A bit too shy to play
But that was bound to change

Fix the chain on your bike
Help you keep your grades up
Sneaking out on warm nights
Lying to the grownups
Making fools of ourselves
Out there on the dance floor
That's what friends are for
That and so much more

Ten years on
After a summer shower
I saw you out front
Arranging the flowers
I knew right then
I'd marry you someday

St. Anthony
Helped me find my umbrella
On our wedding day
Everybody took shelter
They said it's good luck
And we said our vows in the rain
And those have never changed

Money in the sock drawer
To find a place of our own
Dreaming of a front lawn
Somewhere off of Blackstone
Pleading with the landlord
Changed the locks on our door
That's what young love's for
That and so much more

In '81
Your ma lost her brother
You worried for cousins
You left back in Ulster
We didn't have much
Just a bit for a rainy day

So we flew the boys
To a strange new place
Bunk beds in a small room in the USA
Sometimes we were hungry
But they'd never starve in the maze
Our lives forever changed

Fix the chains on their bikes
Help them keep their grades up
They sneak out on warm nights
Just like when we were young
They look just like you and
I can't help but love them
That's what family's for
That and so much more
You open up your door
That's what family's for

At nine years old
You crossed the ocean